The COVID-19 pandemic has hugely affected the textile and apparel industry. Besides the negative impact due to supply chain disruptions, drop in demand, liquidity problems, and overstocking, this pandemic was found to be a window of opportunity since it accelerated the ongoing digitalization trends and the use of functional materials in the textile industry. This review paper covers the development of smart and advanced textiles that emerged as a response to the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2. We extensively cover the advancements in developing smart textiles that enable monitoring and sensing through electrospun nanofibers and nanogenerators. Additionally, we focus on improving medical textiles mainly through enhanced antiviral capabilities, which play a crucial role in pandemic prevention, protection, and control. We summarize the challenges that arise from personal protective equipment (PPE) disposal and finally give an overview of new smart textile-based products that emerged in the markets related to the control and spread reduction of SARS-CoV-2.

Combining the several mixed phase structures and property profiles with a conductive, high aspect ratios nanofiller such as carbon nanotubes, graphene, and carbon black, specific morphological structures in melt spinning can be reached that offer much more potential for developing new functional fibers. Thus, understanding and controlling filler localization inside the developing phase morphology during melt spinning are the keys to the necessary structures. This work aimed to offer the possibility of producing fibers from electrically conductive polymer composites with a high filler concentration. First, the influence of different commercially available nanofillers, such as multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), graphene and carbon black on Polyamide 6 (PA6)-based nanocomposite melt-spun fibers were examined. Following the lab-scale melt spinning experiments, PA6/MWCNT-CB nanocomposite filaments containing 10 wt% nanofiller (each 5 wt%), were chosen for a pilot-scale bicomponent melt spinning process to investigate the influence of the nanocomposite core material feeding parameters on the properties of melt-spun fibers. The electrical conductivity decreased by half (from 3.13E-02 to 6.72E-03) when melt flow rate was increased from 3 g/min to 6 g/min. Scanning electron microscopy micrographs and thermal gravimetric analysis thermograms showed that the change in MFR values significantly affected the nanocomposite filaments’ surface properties.

This study presents the development of high‐performance poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) based piezoelectric nanocomposites incorporating branched carbon nanotubes (bCNTs) and zinc oxide nanowires (ZnO NWs) through a scalable melt mixing process. ZnONWs with uniform morphology (mean diameter: 36.5 nm) are successfully synthesized and characterized. FTIR analysis confirms that incorporating bCNTs into PVDF significantly enhances the β‐phase content, while adding ZnO NWs (1–10 wt.%) resulted in progressive intensification of β‐phase characteristic peaks, with higher ZnO content showing stronger electroactive phase formation. The optimized composition (PVDF/0.5 wt.% bCNTs/5 wt.% ZnO NWs) demonstrates superior piezoelectric performance with a power density of 5.62 µW cm⁻², voltage output of 1.55 V, and current output of 14.48 µA. Moreover, the composite exhibits excellent mechanical properties with a tensile strength of 48 MPa and maintains stable performance under cyclic loading. The enhanced performance is attributed to the synergistic effect between bCNTs and ZnO NWs, optimal β‐phase formation, and efficient charge transfer pathways. This study demonstrates the potential of melt‐mixed PVDF nanocomposites for practical energy harvesting applications.

Smart textiles require conductive polymer filaments that balance electrical performance with industrial processability. This study presents a hybrid nanofiller approach combining branched carbon nanotubes (bCNTs) and carbon black (CB) in polyamide 6 (PA6), enabling scalable melt spinning of high‐performance conductive filaments. Comparative analysis of PA6/bCNT, PA6/CB, and PA6/bCNT/CB systems established structure–property–processing relationships essential for smart textile applications. Rheological characterization reveals that the hybrid system merges the strong conductive network of bCNTs with the improved spinnability provided by CB, ensuring industrial‐scale processability. The optimized PA6/3 wt.% bCNT/3 wt.% CB composite achieved low resistivity (≈50 Ω·cm) while maintaining stable spinning at winding speeds up to 1000 m min ⁻¹ . A structural evolution model is proposed, showing how CB particles act as bridging agents between aligned bCNTs, stabilizing conductive pathways under high draw ratios. Complementary microscopy, thermal, and mechanical analyses validated this mechanism and confirmed the balance of conductivity, thermal stability, and mechanical performance. By integrating material design, process optimization, and functional validation, this work overcomes key barriers limiting commercial conductive filaments. The developed hybrid technology offers cost‐effective, scalable solutions for next‐generation smart textiles in wearable electronics, strain sensing, and electromagnetic shielding.

Conductive polymer composites (CPCs), obtained by incorporating conductive fillers into a polymer matrix, are suitable for producing strain sensors for structural health monitoring (SHM) in infrastructure. Here, the effect of the addition of inorganic semiconductor nanoparticles (INPs) to a poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) composite filled with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on the piezoresistive behavior is investigated. INPs with different morphologies and sizes are synthesized by a hydrothermal method. The added inorganic oxide semiconductors showed two distinct morphologies, including different phases. While particles with flower-like plate morphology contain phases of orth-ZnSnO₃ and SnO, the cauliflower-like nanoparticles contain these metal oxides and ZnO. The nanoparticles are characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), and the nanocomposites by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Cyclic tensile testing is applied to determine the strain-sensing behavior of PVDF/1 wt% MWCNT nanocomposites with 0–10 wt% inorganic nanoparticles. Compared to the PVDF/1 wt% MWCNT nanocomposite, the piezoresistive sensitivity is higher after the addition of both types of nanoparticles and increases with their amount. Thereby, nanoparticles with flower-like plate structures improve strain sensing behavior slightly more than nanoparticles with cauliflower-like structures. The thermogravimetric analysis results showed that the morphology of the semiconductor nanoparticles added to the PVDF/MWCNT matrix influences the changes in thermal properties.

Studies have increasingly aimed at improving the piezoresistive behavior of polymer‐based conductive composites (CPCs) for strain‐sensing, with inorganic nanomaterial enhancement offering research opportunities. This study investigates the impact of incorporating zinc sulfide nanospheres (ZnS NSs, 1–7 wt.%), synthesized via a one‐step hydrothermal method, into a poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) polymer matrix together with multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE‐SEM), energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDX), and X‐ray diffraction (XRD) analyses reveal that ZnS NSs comprise a mixture of ZnS_0.96O_0.04 and S phases. While of ZnS NSs minimally impact tensile properties of the PVDF/MWCNT composites, they reduce elongation at break at 5 wt.%. During 15‐cycle strain sensing up to 3% strain, ZnS NSs‐enhanced composites outperformed PVDF/1 wt.% MWCNT. The reference sample's resistance change ratio (ΔR/R0) decreased below 1% with increased cycles, while 1 wt.% ZnS NSs increased ΔR/R0 to 3%, reducing changes upon cycle increments. Higher ZnS NSs levels (3–7 wt.%) resulted in ΔR/R0 exceeding 4–5%, indicating enhanced strain sensing performance. Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed limited impact of ZnS NSs on the thermal properties and microstructure of the composites.